Sales Topper or Door Stopper

9. Be top of mind. When a customer is ready to buy, you want your big book to be the first catalog he or she wants to open. How do you remain fresh if your catalog mailed months ago? The answer lies in the contact strategy.

B-to-b catalogers successfully use e-mail, telemarketing, postcards and direct mail. But maybe you need to reconsider how your customer shops. Perhaps your response rates would improve if you placed an ad in an appropriate trade publication, sponsored an industry event, exhibited at a trade show, sent a promotional item or provided a message on your customers’ credit card statements? There are as many communication strategies as there are customer types. Determine which promotions add the most overall value to your bottom line.